Wintersday 2006
]] Wintersday 2006 is the 2006 version of the Wintersday festival, i.e. the annual competition of Dwayna (fighting for a mild winter and early spring) vs. Grenth (fighting for a long and cold winter). As announced on the official Guild Wars website, Wintersday 2006 will see a revival of many activities and items known from last years event, as well as a few new features. Most of the events are restricted to the Prophecies and Nightfall campaigns, however players with only Guild Wars Factions can access the Dwayna Vs Grenth snowball arena and the Candysmiths from the Great Temple of Balthazar on the Battle Isles. Schedule The event lasts for 13 days, over the Christmas holiday season 2006/2007: :Start: Wednesday, December 20, 2006 (4:25 pm PST) :End ("Grand Finale"): Monday, January 1st, 2007 (11:59 pm PST) Locations The following towns (except for the Great Temple of Balthazar) will be re-decorated in a winterly theme, serving as the stage for most of the Winterfest activities: Activities Quests During the festivities, special quests will be offered: *Two quests from Wintersday 2005: **The Greatest Snowman Ever Made (support Dwayna) **A Very Grentchie Wintersday (support Grenth) *Two "all new quest chains revolving around the two competing holiday gods". Featuring "polar bears, reindeer, and devious presents": **The quest Save the Reindeer can be acquired from Grandfather Kringle in Kamadan. The quests following this quest are Find the Stolen Presents and Spreading the Wintersday Spirit. **The quest White Mist can be acquired from Elder Skruuj in Kamadan. The quests following this quest are How The Grentches Stole Wintersday and The Gift of Giving. See also: Category:Wintersday 2006 quests Note: these quests are grouped in the Festival Event Quests tab in the Quest Log. Snowball Fights This year's event will feature the PvP version of the snowball fights known from last year's event, as well as an all new PvE version: *PvP: "Random forces will unite within an arena to fight for either Grenth or Dwayna. The first team to gather five presents for its patron deity will win the day." For details, see: Dwayna Vs Grenth (Arena) and snow fighting skills. This started December 20. *PvE: "Venture into the Underworld for a series of repeatable snowball fights against either the forces of Grenth or the forces of Dwayna. Take control of piles of presents to ensure your side’s victory in this frosty fray." For details, see: You're a Mean One, Mr. Grenth and In Grenth's Defense. This started December 23. These are solo missions. Also, deaths during these missions do count against you, so Survivors might want to avoid them. However, anyone, regardless of level, may particpate in these as your maximum health, energy and skills are reset. Present Hunt This is the repeat of last year's present hunt. It works like this: Periodically a present spawns randomly somewhere in the above listed event towns. Players must spot the present, pick it up quickly and deliver it to one of the Young Children in town before any of the Grentches reach the present, which will destroy it. Grentches can also destroy held by players if they come within adjacent range. The Grentches also appear to be able to occasionally destroy presents within. In return, the child will hand the player a Candy Cane Shard or a Winter Gift which will unwrap into a random Wintersday item. Sugar Rush makes it significantly easier to run over presents. It appears that a new present spawns whenever a present is turned in or destroyed. It is believed that there can only bu one Present bundle in each district at a time. Known present spawn points: *Lion's Arch **To the southwest near Scrappy Jhim **To the west near Vehemus **In the northwest in front of the Wintersday Priest. **Up on the hill to the northwest between Magi Malaquire and Magi Nor. **Northeast between Merkin and Liran. **To the south next to the southwestern Crafter's Corner sign. **To the south next to Jiaju Tai. **To the left of Jak Lundunn near the tree in the Storage area. *Kamadan **Northeast by the the Consulate **Center between storage and the snowmen. **Center near the Winter Dwarf. **Southesat by Dockmaster Ahlaro. **South by Nenah. **Southwest near the crafters. **West near the carolers, avatars and Wintersday Priest. **Northwest by the traders. Children who give Candy Cane Shards *Lion's Arch: Lara *Kamadan: Niwah, Young Children Children who give Winter Gifts *Lion's Arch: Scrappy Jhim Children who will not take presents *Kamadan: Mahk's Son Wintergreen Challenge This event is hosted by the Xunlai guild. It revolves around the Wintergreen Tournament. Contestants win Wintergreen weapons for correctly predicting the outcome of tournament games and may claim their reward from a Xunlai Tournament Agent. Note: At the moment this NPC is unavailable. See also: Category:Wintergreen weapons NPCs Collectors A number of collectors have shown up in the above listed event towns, handing out special reward items in return for special collectable items. The selection differs, depending on whether the collector supports Dwayna or Grenth. For a listing, see: Wintersday 2006 collectors Candysmiths The following Candysmiths have shown up: *Candysmith Noel in Ascalon City *Candysmith Kris in Lion's Arch *Candysmith Sweetshanks in Droknar's Forge *Candysmith Coldstone in Kamadan *Candysmith Kringle in Dwayna Vs Grenth (Location) *Candysmith Marley in Dwayna Vs Grenth (Location) All of them except for Candysmith Marley offer all six of the candy cane weapons and all 3 of the new peppermint weapons for 9 Candy Cane Shards each. Marley offers the Gingerbread Focus, Gingerbread Shield and Peppermint Shield for 12 Candy Cane Shards each. Festival Hat Maker New festival hat makers appeared in Kamadan and Lion's Arch. They are able to "copy" festival hats among the character of an account against a small fee. This service is meant to reduce the amount of storage and inventory space occupied by festival hats. For more information, see: festival hat maker Winter Dwarf In Kamadan, there is a level 10 Dwarf, held by a Dwarf Guard. Talking to the Winter Dwarf will present three dialog options. The Winter Dwarf, pleading to the player (and Grenth) for merciful death, dies when a player selects the third response. His death is short-lived, as the guard quickly notices and revives him, wondering how he died in the first place. He doesn't seem to have any special purpose other than amusement value. Enchanted Snowman In various cities there are Enchanted Snowman henchmen that can be added to your party. These snowmen are Elementalists. Items The following are the available items for Wintersday 2006, with a brief description from the official Guild wars website: *Winter Gift - What surprise will you find inside? "Unwrap" it to find out. *Snowman Summoner - Need an instant snowman? This gift is for you. *Eggnog - The holiday season's staple drink. *Spiked Eggnog - A more potent glass of nog for the hale and hearty. Please imbibe responsibly—don't drink and quest. *Wintergreen Candy Cane - The return of the adventurer's favorite candy treat. (Remove 15% Death Penalty in PvE only) *Rainbow Candy Cane - A different flavor of candy cane that should also make those long days of questing much more enjoyable. According to Gaile, they give a morale boost. (Not valid in PvP) *Yuletide Tonic - Drink this tonic if you want to be one of Dwayna's little helpers during the festivities. *Glob of Frozen Ectoplasm - You'll need some of this collectible item when you get low on Yuletide Tonic. *Candy Cane Shard - Receive this collectable item through: **Successful Completion of Wintersday Quests **Victory in the Dwayna vs Grenth Snowball PvP Event **Opening Winter Gifts **Random Loot Drops **"The outcome of Wintersday hangs in the balance, and your contribution of Candy Cane Shards may make all the difference. Besides, you never know what somebody might trade for these once the festivities come to a close. Tip: Hold onto those shards until the Wintersday finale and use them for good (or mischievous) intent!" *Fruitcake - A tasty holiday staple that is sure to put a little spring in your step. (causes Sugar Rush) *Special Rewards: In the tradition of the season, you'll receive special headgear during the Wintersday finale. And even better, you'll get a new means of storing it, as well. *The following items are not mentioned on the website, but are available: **Candy weapons - not mentioned on the official website, all 6 of the 2005 Candy Cane weapons have returned, as have the Gingerbread Shield and Focus and the Peppermint Shield, furthermore, 3 new peppermint weapons have been added (daggers, spear, scythe). **Peppermint Candy Canes - During Wintersday 2006 they can be obtained from Winter Gifts and the Wintersday 2006 collectors. See also: Category:Wintersday 2006 items External Links *http://www.guildwars.com/events/ingame/wintersday2k6/default.php - Wintersday 2006 Event: Annual Battle between Grenth and Dwayna *http://www.guildwars.com/community/thescribe/scribe-061130.php - The Scribe tells about "Wintergreen Challenge" *http://www.guildwars.com/competitive/funseason/winterfest2006.php - Winterfest 2006 Ladder Season *http://www.guildwars.com/gallery/screenshots/winterfest2006/ - Wintersday 2006 screenshots, including screenshots of Wintergreen items *http://www.guildwars.com/events/contests/wintersday2006/ - Official Wintersday art contest. *http://www.guildwars.com/press/releases/pressrelease-2006-12-13.php - "Wintersday 2006 will take place in-game December 20, 2006 through January 1, 2007." Category:Wintersday 2006 Category:Special events